1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a powder collecting device, particularly to a powder collecting device for collecting powder, such as toner, a developer, waste toner and a waste developer, in an electrophotographic copier or printer.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus is provided with a waste powder collecting device for collecting waste toner removed from an image support member, such as a photoreceptor, or for collecting a waste developer removed from a developing device. In this type of collecting device, as shown by FIG. 8, waste toner or a waste developer is fed in a conveyer pipe 105 in a direction shown by arrow B by a conveyer screw 131, and the waste toner or the waste developer is dropped through an opening 132 made at an end of the pipe 105 to be received in a specified position of a container 120.
The container 120 is mountable in and dismountable from a body of an image forming apparatus. When the container 120 is mounted in the body of the image forming apparatus, an end of the conveyer pipe 105 is inserted in the container 120. An elastic sealing member 125 as shown by FIG. 9 is attached to an open end of the container 120 through which the end of the conveyer pipe 105 is inserted. Cuts 126 are radially made in the sealing member 125, whereby tongue-like flaps 127a and 127b are formed. When the end of the conveyer pipe 105 is inserted in the container 120, as shown in FIG. 8, the flaps 127a and 127b are bent by the end of the pipe 105, and when the container 120 is dismounted from the body of the image forming apparatus, as shown by FIG. 9, the sealing member 125 returns to its original state to close the open end of the container 120.
Since the flaps 127a and 127b are formed by the cuts 126 made radially from the axis of the conveyer pipe 105, the upper flaps 127b and the lower flaps 127a are relatively long. Especially the lower flaps 127a extend to the opening 132, and therefore, waste toner T adheres to the tips of the lower flaps 127a. When the container 120 is dismounted from the body of the container 120, the lower flaps 127a return to the upstanding states, and in this moment, the waste toner T comes off from the tips of the flaps 127a and begrimes the inside of the apparatus, the floor and/or the user's hand. As the container 120 is mounted in and dismounted from the body of the image forming apparatus, the tips of the lower flaps 127a may be caught between the opening 132 of the pipe 105 and a shutter 133, and may be torn. Additionally, in order to comply with a demand for downsizing of the whole image forming apparatus, the space for insertion of the conveyer pipe 105 into the container 120 needs to be reduced. Accordingly, the tips of the lower flaps 127a may cover a large part of the opening 132, thereby obstructing the drop of the waste toner T and increasing the amount of waste toner T adhering to the lower flaps 127a. 
A sealing member for a toner container disclosed by Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2010-085458 has cuts in different places on the outer surface and on the inner surface of the sealing member so as to achieve excellent sealing performance. This sealing member certainly has improved sealing performance, but this sealing member does not solve the problem that toner adheres to flaps of the sealing member, thereby causing the other components to be begrimed.